Criminal Psychology

As policemen, they probably had the occupational disease that came with it. If it wasn’t a professional habit, when one was idle, who would care about the coverage of surveillance cameras?

Naturally, ordinary policemen didn’t have such leisure. Except for Comrade Xiao Wang Chao, who couldn’t stop his brain, no one would notice that a huge advertisement actually covered a wide-angle camera somewhere in the mall.

“Comrade Xiao Wang, I find that you care very much about public facilities. This is something to be praised,” Xing Conglian patted Wang Chao’s furry head and said with relief.

“Is that okay?” Wang Chao was a little puzzled listening to such relaxed words, so he tried to confirm as he looked at the camera above.

“Of course it matters.” Xing Conglian raised his head and circled around the huge coconut tree. “However, this matter isn’t in our jurisdiction. Then, now that you have this problem, Comrade Xiao Wang, think about it. Within the scope of your authority and responsibility, what is the solution to this matter?”

It was probably true that people’s mood would improve after eating. Xing Conglian didn’t scold Wang Chao to mind his own business but instead humored him.

After thinking carefully, Wang Chao replied, “Send a rectification notice to the security department of the mall so they can fix it?”

He didn’t say something like, “Captain, let’s drag the chairman out and educate him” or “Captain, let’s hack into their system and send a notice to the security department”…

Rectification notice…

It was indeed an appropriate method in terms of procedures.

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian and saw him smile at Wang Chao affectionately. It was obvious he thought the result of his education wasn’t bad, so he continued to ask Wang Chao, “Well… In whose name?”

“The safety supervision department?” Wang Chao answered tentatively.

Hearing this, Xing Conglian didn’t immediately rebuke but pondered for a while and then asked, “What reason?”

“Uh, security risks?”

“What are the security risks?”

“I… I…” Wang Chao started stammering. He held back for a long time and finally shouted to Xing Conglian, “Captain, I don’t know.”

Xing Conglian raised his head, looked at the smiling singer on the advertisement poster, and lengthened his tone. “Comrade Xiao Wang, look. There’s going to be a large-scale gathering here tomorrow. Isn’t the safety of the crowd a top priority? Shouldn’t the shopping mall do its best to maintain order at the scene and protect the safety of the public? So, if the wide-angle camera that overlooks the hall is obscured…”

“It’s a major security hazard for the gathering!”

Wang Chao snapped his fingers.

After he finished speaking, he happily followed Xing Conglian around, then suddenly stopped. “But Captain, the security supervision department isn’t under our control. Should I enter their system and send a notice?”

When Xing Conglian heard this, he almost choked. “What system are you entering? Can you be more civilized, Comrade Xiao Wang?”

“Then what should I do?”

“Think about it. Which department oversees security for large-scale gatherings?”

“The local police station?” Wang Chao suddenly realized. “We have to tell the local police station?”

Xing Conglian nodded and said, “I happen to know the director of the dispatch office in the jurisdiction here, so…”

“So you’ll call the director and ask him to tell the mall to take down the poster?”

Xing Conglian rubbed his chin and shook his head. “No, this problem was obviously discovered by Comrade Xiao Wang. Of course, I can’t take away your credit.”

Wang Chao pointed at his nose as he asked, “Me?”

Xing Conglian nodded. “Of course you.”

“I-I-I-I don’t want…”

“You’re welcome, Comrade Xiao Wang. Give him a call later.” Xing Conglian patted him on the shoulder and then walked forward. “Maybe he’ll even give you a pennant. In case you get a bonus, remember to invite me and your brother A’Chen for a meal.”

“Captain, you weren’t like this before!” Wang Chao was stunned for a second, then caught up to Xing Conglian. “Why are you being like a mother-in-law all of a sudden?”

Xing Conglian angrily responded, “How am I being like a mother-in-law?”

“You’re always nagging. Go through this procedure, go through that procedure… You used to do things very quickly.” Wang Chao’s complaints sounded from behind.

Xing Conglian ignored him.

Lin Chen suddenly felt someone standing beside him.

“What’s wrong?” the gentle male voice rang in his ears.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze from the huge poster and looked at the people beside him. “I don’t know.”

“It’s not some kind of bad intuition again, right?” Xing Conglian asked.

“No.” Lin Chen turned his head and looked at the troubled teenager behind him and said, “Your captain just wants you to try to deal with problems by yourself and communicate with other people.”

Wang Chao was momentarily shocked. “Why should I communicate more with others?”

“Because you’re human.”

“Yes, is there a problem?” Wang Chao said seriously.

“People are social animals.” Lin Chen smiled and looked at him. “But do you realize that in your life, there’s only me and your captain?”

“There’s also Uncle Wang and A’Huang!”

“Who’s that?” Lin Chen asked Xing Conglian.

“Uncle Wang’s big yellow dog. He’s our gatekeeper at the bureau. When you were off these days, he went to A’Huang for lunch every day at noon and ignored me.”

It seemed like such a thing existed.

Lin Chen understood the helplessness of Xing Conglian. The issue of education still had a long way to go.

“Let’s put it this way. Perhaps it isn’t appropriate.” Lin Chen paused, then continued, “Maybe one day, you encounter something that makes you unable to use the abilities you’re proud of, and your captain or I urgently need your help. You have to find a way to try and deal with other people for us.”

“For example?”

“For example, if your captain and I were kidnapped by someone and you have to rescue us.”

“A’Chen, are you putting up flags*?”

*Foreshadows, hints. Basically, he’s saying, are you foreshadowing something?

“Consultant Lin, it’s not good for you to say such scary things, right?” Even Xing Conglian had to chime in.

“It’s just an analogy.” Lin Chen thought for a moment and decided to change his words. “Or maybe your captain was kidnapped, and you couldn’t contact me.”

“Hey, this example doesn’t seem to be any better, no?” Xing Conglian sighed.

Wang Chao quickly answered, “Oh, to hell with him!”

“Uh… Hey!”

Xing Conglian reacted, but Wang Chao had already quickly ran ahead. Despite that, he was still caught by Xing Conglian after a while, and then there was another flurry of “full-time education”.

Lin Chen decided to ignore the two and looked back at the celebrity poster that stretched across the three-story building.

He really hoped that it wasn’t a flag.

—-

Although he was unhappy, on their way home, Wang Chao eventually asked Xing Conglian for the phone number and ran away alone, hiding under a small bridge, as he called it.

The alley was peaceful. Occasionally, they could hear laughter coming from both sides or the dialogue from a film or drama. Those sounds were mixed with the incoherent voice of the teenager as he spoke on the phone, giving the night a down-to-earth touch.

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

Lin Chen looked up at the moon and suddenly heard Xing Conglian ask him this.

He raised his head slightly and looked at the handsome face of the person next to him. Xing Conglian’s features were softened by the night, making Lin Chen a bit dazed.

Then, Lin Chen realized that Xing Conglian was continuing the unfinished question in the mall just now.

What’s wrong?

What were you thinking just now?

Is something wrong?

These simple words contained many questions. Lin Chen felt that he even wanted to say: “You need to be more honest with me, and you can talk to me about any problems you have.”

It wasn’t that he wasn’t being honest. He just didn’t think it was a big deal.

“The mall where we ate just now is called Ansheng International Mall.”

“What’s wrong with Ansheng International Mall?” Xing Conglian still looked confused.

“Have you heard of Huang Ansheng?”

“Who?”

“Huang, An, Sheng.” Lin Chen said each syllable slowly.

“Wait… Huang?” Xing Conglian was in disbelief.

Lin Chen nodded.

At this moment, Wang Chao hung up and ran back from the distance like a small animal, looking quite happy with himself. “Captain, Captain, I finished calling them. Your friend is so nice. He’s not like you at all. He said they would immediately notify the mall to rectify it!”

When he ran in front of Xing Conglian, he suddenly stopped and stared at him for a while, then said, “Captain, why do you look like you ate something bad? Was that rice noodle dish tainted?”

Xing Conglian curled up his finger and flicked Wang Chao’s forehead. “It’s your fault!”

Wang Chao rubbed his forehead and shouted incomprehensibly, “What’s my fault?”

“You’re the one who was clamoring to go get rice noodles.”

“But the rice noodles were delicious!” Wang Chao angrily said. “You even finished all the soup.”

Xing Conglian was speechless for a moment. He paused, then adjusted his tone and said slowly, “Then do you know who opened that shopping mall where we ate the rice noodles just now?”

“I don’t care who opened it. I just wanted to eat rice noodles. Who cares about who owns the mall. Just like when I eat eggs, do I have to care who raised the chickens that laid them?” Wang Chao spoke confidently, as if this logic was common sense.

“Oh, that mall is opened by your dear brother Huang Ze’s family.” Xing Conglian put his hand in his pocket and spoke righteously. He then patted the teenager’s shoulder and continued walking forward.

Wang Chao was momentarily stunned before he reacted. “Fuck. Huang Ze, that big dumbass!”

He took three steps forward and heavily slapped Xing Conglian on the back. “Don’t add the word “dear” before that dumbass Huang Ze’s name. Captain, why didn’t you say so earlier! I feel like puking now!”

“It’s your brother A’Chen who kept it from us.” Xing Conglian wanted to vomit blood when he was slapped so hard. He bent over and pretended to be seriously ill and coughed a few times.

“A’Chen, why didn’t you say it earlier!”

Lin Chen looked at the two people who were reacting as if they had just encountered a great catastrophe and said helplessly, “But it’s me who’s hated by Huang Ze, no?”

“No, no, no. It’s that dumbass Huang Ze that’s hated by everyone.”

“Your business is our business,” Xing Conglian agreed.

“A’Chen, you don’t know, but it took a lot of effort for us to get rid of that dumbass Huang Ze. The captain is a scheming dog. He asked me to drive Huang Ze away…” Before Wang Chao could finish, Xing Conglian glared at him, which made him obediently shut up.

Lin Chen’s gaze wandered past the secretive faces of the two of them. They were obviously hiding something from him.

Thinking of that day, he also asked Xing Conglian why Huang Ze would let him off so easily. Xing Conglian’s response at the time was that he had possibly found a conscience.

But how could “finding one’s conscience” just fall from the sky…

“Ah, let’s talk about the book list. A’Chen, when shall we go to the library?”

Seeing that Lin Chen was silent, Wang Chao hurriedly switched topics.

Although it didn’t feel good to be kept in the dark, the reaction of these two was unexpectedly cute. What was more, how many friends could he have that would share the same hatred with him and even secretly solve his annoying problems for him?

Truly, he was thankful.

Lin Chen looked at the two people bathing under the bright moonlight and decided not to delve further.

“Go tomorrow?” he asked.

“Not tomorrow. We have to work overtime!”

“Aren’t you off Saturday?”

“Speaking of which, Captain, we also have to blame that dumbass Huang Ze’s family for having their mall’s grand opening tomorrow and making us work overtime.”

Xing Conglian touched his chin. “It seems they are indeed to blame.”

“What a terrible coincidence.”

“Indeed,” Xing Conglian lamented.

—-

To put it another way, what should happen would inevitably happen in various forms.

Before going to bed that night, as Lin Chen was making the bed, he suddenly heard a scream from the bathroom. When he opened his door, Xing Conglian had already kicked the bathroom door open.

He saw Wang Chao squatting in front of the toilet, holding a toothbrush while crying.

“Brother, what’s wrong with you?” Xing Conglian asked impatiently.

“My toothbrush… My toothbrush has become like this!”

Wang Chao was holding a green children’s toothbrush with a small frog-shaped handle while he wailed.

Lin Chen was a little surprised. He didn’t know what the problem was. “I went to the supermarket and thought this toothbrush was cute, so I changed it for you.”

“No… A’Chen Gege… No…” The boy’s posture had changed from squatting to lying down as he called out Lin Chen’s name sadly.

Lin Chen frowned and glanced at Xing Conglian. He wanted to say what constellation this little brother was born under because he was so nitpicky with the things in his daily life.

“Pisces, rising Virgo.”

Before he could ask, Xing Conglian had already answered.

“The bristles of your toothbrush were already bald, so I changed them for you,” Lin Chen explained.

“My toothbrush belongs to Maji. There’s no place in Hongjing that sells it, so I haven’t changed it. My Maji!”

Wang Chao was still shouting in despair, causing Xing Conglian to lose his patience. “It’s just a toothbrush. What kind of man are you to be so particular about a toothbrush?”

“But Captain, I have used Maji since I was a child!”

“Oh, then from today onwards, you can change it.” Seeing that he still wasn’t getting up, Xing Conglian kicked Wang Chao in the ass. “I remember you saying you wanted to be independent when you were 18, so you went out and lived alone. Letting you come back so you can mooch off the elderly is a great mercy. Your brother A’Chen change your toothbrush for you, yet you’re still being picky and whiny.”

“No, this was indeed my own fault.” Lin Chen interrupted Xing Conglian. “Maji seems to have opened a shop in Hongjing. Shall I buy one for you tomorrow?”

“Really?”

Hearing this, Wang Chao resurrected quickly and with vigor. “Why don’t we go now?”

“Brother, have you seen the time? It’s half past ten now. What shopping mall is still open?” Xing Conglian kicked Wang Chao’s ass again, then turned to Lin Chen and said, “The newly opened Maji shop, is it in Ansheng International?”

“Yes. Is there something wrong?”

“No, no, no. Not that dumbass Huang Ze!” Wang Chao shouted from the ground again.

Hearing this, Xing Conglian nodded solemnly.

“It’s just a shopping mall. The shops that are open inside have nothing to do with Huang Ze himself.”

“But what if you get tainted by Huang Ze’s stupid aura!”

“Do you still want it?” Lin Chen lowered his head and asked.

“Yes, A’Chen Gege, please,” Wang Chao replied weakly.

The author has something to say:

I feel like people really don’t trust me very much…

Am I the kind of person who… gets into trouble at the drop of a hat?

Kinky Thoughts:

I mean, mentioning flags in the chapter itself… Can it be more obvious?